In and Out of Time
by AWriter93
Summary: When they find the first body, it puts everyone on edge. When the second and third show up, it's clear that someone is trying to send Jane a message, and it's not a pleasant one. Will it be Jane's neck on the line next, or someone else's? Eventual Rizzles of course.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey, guys! This is my very first Rizzles fanfic, so please bear that in mind. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update, but please read and review! Thanks!**

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Detective Jane Rizzoli looked over at the form of her best friend and co-worker, Dr. Maura Isles. While they had been curled up on Maura's sofa watching a movie, the darling medical examiner had fallen into a peaceful sleep. _She even looks amazing while she's sleeping, _Jane thought to herself. Unwilling to disturb her friend's slumber, Jane rearranged the pillow behind her head, pulled her blanket up under her chin, and drifted off into a sleep that she hoped would be as peaceful as Maura's.

"Jaaanie," a voice called to her from the pitch black end of the tunnel. That voice sent a chill down her spine. She stood, waiting and watching the place where she heard the voice come frome, and knew who it was before she saw him. Hoyt emerged from the shadows and kept walking towards Jane. "Did you miss me? Does Maura miss me?" He asked her with a sick grin on his face. Even though the logical part of Jane's brain knew Hoyt was dead, the rest of her followed instinct, turned, and ran the other way.

Maura started to wake up. Jane's tossing and turning had woken her, since they were both still on the couch together. She recognized Jane's heavy breathing and the slight sweat on her forehead as an indication that Jane was having a nightmare. The medical examiner battled internally with herself for a moment, trying to decide if it was safe to wake Jane. Maura hated seeing her best friend look so uncomfortable, so she came to the conclusion that she should wake her.

"Jane? Jane, can you wake up?" Maura was rubbing Jane's back in her attempt to wake Jane as nicely as she could. The tunnel around her suddenly disappeared. Jane was awake now, and she heard Maura's voice. It relaxed her almost instantly, and feeling Maura's hand on her back gave her another feeling. She shook her head to clear it, and dismissed that other feeling.

"You were having a nightmare, Jane. Are you alright?" Jane could hear the concern in Maura's voice.

"Yeah, Maur, I'm fine." Maura gave Jane a look that said she knew better. Jane sighed and gave in; hiding this from Maura was pointless. "I- I had a nightmare about Hoyt. I know he's dead, but I guess the rest of my brain still hasn't gotten used to that yet. It upsets me still, because I realize how close I was to losing you…" Jane's voice trailed off as she finished her sentence and she suddenly couldn't look Maura in the eyes. Maura pulled Jane into a hug, but wished she could comfort her friend in a more intimate way. She had noticed Jane' uneasiness, and wondered if Jane could feel the same way she did. The medical examiner thought about saying something, but just then Jane turned back to look at her. "Maura?" Jane started nervously, "I, um, well-" Jane was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone, and Maura's began doing the same. Maura's eyes searched Jane's, willing her to continue speaking. Jane wanted to have this conversation with Maura. Denying her feelings was becoming increasingly difficult, but Jane wanted them to be able to go to work without the necessary conversation fresh in the minds to distract them. "_As if Maura's not already distracting enough,_" Jane laughed to herself. Jane broke eye contact first and reached for her phone.

"Rizzoli."

"Isles," Maura answered, mentally sighing, wishing that work hadn't called at the most inconvenient time.

"Alright, Maur, let's go investigate another murder," Jane said while placing her hand on her friend's knee. The touch made Maura's stomach flutter.

"We don't know it was a murder, Jane," Maura reminded her.

"You're right, you're right," Jane conceded. "Maybe we'll find some reddish-brown stuff, too!" Jane winked at Maura with her last sentence, and even though Maura knew Jane was poking fun at her, she couldn't help but give a little laugh. The two got up to leave, and Maura grabbed her car keys out of her purse. "Oh, no you don't!" Jane warned. "We can take your car, but I'M driving!" Maura pursed her lips, and Jane was sure she was about to get an earful from her friend, but to her surprise, Maura handed over the keys. "Really? No retort?" Jane asked incredulously.

"I'll play nice this one time," Maura replied with a slight twinkle in her eye. Jane noticed it, and found herself rooted to the spot. She suddenly wanted nothing else than to close the space between them and kiss Maura. "Are you going to stand there with your mouth open all day, Jane? They'll start to wonder if we got lost! Besides, if you leave your jaw in that position for too long-" Maura stopped talking as Jane turned and practically ran out to the car. "_Hmm, that was odd,_" Maura thought to herself.

"What do we got?" Jane asked Frost and Korsak as she and Maura appeared on the scene.

"The garbage men found her body this morning in that Dumpster," Frost informed her. "The medical unit is on its way here to transport the body back to the morgue." Jane nodded as Frost filled her in on what little things they already knew. Jane noticed that Frost kept nervously looking over towards the body, where Maura was getting ready to set to work. She was squatting next to the body when she noticed something. A tiny gasp escaped from her lips before she could hold it back. "What is it, Maur?" Jane called over to her. Though it wasn't obvious, Maura had noticed that there was a small thin line running along the victim's neck. It wasn't nearly as clean and precise as Hoyt's signature cut had been, but the medical examiner was still concerned with how similar it was. "Maura?" Jane called again, trying to get her friend's attention, "What did you find?" Maura stood up and turned back to the other three, exchanging a glace with Korsak and Frost simultaneously.

Jane looked at them, confused about what has happening that she obviously wasn't a part of yet. Jane hated being left out of the loop. "Will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" Jane's voice rising as she became agitated. "Jane," Korsak began, "our vic has a thin slice across her throat, similar to Hoyt's style. However, it wasn't the cause of death in this case." Korsak looked to Dr. Isles at this statement, who tilted her head slightly. "I can't say for sure what the actual cause of death was at this point, but it is highly unlikely that the cut to her that was what did it." Maura reasoned that she wasn't guessing when she said that, so her conscience was still clear. "Oh," was all Det. Rizzoli managed to say. Maura could feel her heart sink as Jane's face fell.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry it took so long to update this. I've had some serious writer's block lately, and you wouldn't believe how crazy college has been... I hope you stick around and give this story a chance! This chapter's a little shorter than the last, but I hope you still love it. Reviews/comments are always welcome! *A friend just found a spelling error in here, so I'm updating this. Oops :( ***

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Frost and Korsak exchanged nervous glances as Maura searched Jane's face to figure out how her friend was really feeling at this news. For a split second, Maura thought she saw a look of pain and fear, but that was quickly replaced by a determined look. "We'd better get back to BPD," Jane stated, "We've got work to do, guys." The others nodded in agreement. "I'll call Frankie, give him a heads up that we're coming in," Frost said. Jane and Maura trudged back to Maura's car in silence.

"Hey, let's stop for some coffee on the way back, shall we?" Maura asked Jane as they settled into the car. Maura was driving now. Jane hadn't even attempted to drive this time, and had gone straight toward the passenger door. Jane was lost in her own world of thoughts, swirling around her head, clanking into each other. Her body was on auto-pilot when her friend's voice snapped her out of it.  
"Huh?" Jane asked, not sure what Maura had said. Maybe she had asked her a question, Jane didn't know.

"I asked if you would like to stop for some coffee on our way back."

Jane could see the worry so plainly written on Maura's face.

"Yeah, coffee would be great, Maur," Jane replied, allowing a smile to form on her face. She reached over, took Maura's hand, and held it in her own. "Thank you," Jane said. Maura looked over at Jane, and decided that Jane's smile wasn't completely forced. At least, not as much as she thought it might have been. Her stomach gave a little flutter when Jane held her hand, and Maura felt a smile break out on her own face.

They drove the rest of the way to the coffee shop in a comfortable silence. Jane had planned on letting go of Maura's hand relatively soon after she first grabbed it, but realized it might be the only thing that was currently keeping her rooted in reality. While they drove along, Jane realized that Maura definitely had become an anchor in her life, and Jane was grateful for that fact. She was starting to realized that maybe Maura meant more to her than she had thought. Some of her thoughts about her best friend were certainly more than "friendly," she couldn't deny that, and those thoughts had been increasing as of late. But Maura couldn't feel the same way she did, could she? Maura couldn't lie, so how could she keep a secret like that so well for so long? Jane looked over at the beautiful woman next to her. She decided Maura looked happy, but she also appeared to be in thought. "_What is going through that wonderful mind of yours, Maura Isles?"_ Jane wondered to herself.

Not that Jane could have known, but Maura's thought were along the same line as hers. The butterflies in Maura's stomach had still not subsided. She had experienced these feelings before, times when Jane's fingers brushed against hers while they were working, when she and Jane had hugged. Really, any physical contact, or sometimes even the right look, from Jane could set her stomach fluttering. Although she had never really had a best friend before, Maura knew enough to realize that these things weren't just feelings caused by simple friendship. No, something else was going on here. Maura had fallen for her best friend, that much she knew. But she was afraid. Afraid that Jane didn't, wouldn't, or couldn't feel the same way, and afraid that she wouldn't be able to keep it from Jane much longer. Maura couldn't lie, and especially not about something as big as this. She looked over at Jane as they parked at the coffee shop, and her eyes met Jane's. For a moment, they both stayed there, looking into each other's eyes and smiling at the other. It felt like they were the only people in the world, and everyone else just fell away. In this moment, it was just them, and time was frozen. Jane's glanced down at Maura's lips before she could consciously think to do so. Panicking, she cleared her throat. "How about we get that coffee?" Jane's voice was a little higher than normal, and as she heard herself, her face started to flush.  
"Yes, the coffee," Maura started quickly, noticing Jane's embarrassment. They both exited the car and made their way inside.

They waited in line, side by side, the easy silence falling over them again. Maura was watching Jane, trying to gauge her friend's emotions. Maura had always been able to read Jane well. Now, it seemed, Jane was trying to keep the worry off of her face, but sometimes she would slip up and it would show. Jane turned to Maura, "What you gonna stare at me all day?" Jane teased, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"You caught me, Jane," Maura responded, "I just can't get enough of your beautiful face!" Maura's tone was light and playful, so Jane laughed along with her. She also thought the doctor's words might have some truth to them. Jane didn't know it yet, but she was right.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello again, everybody! I hope you're all doing well and enjoying this story so far. Unfortunately, I don't own any of these characters, as I'm sure you all know. Also, I apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes I may have made! Feel free to leave a review or send me any suggestions. They're much appreciated! Thanks to everyone who has followed/favorited this story! You guys rock :)**

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Coffee in hand, the two friends headed back out to the car. Jane's mind began to wander, and she headed to the passenger side again without a second thought of it. Maura's dress today was absolutely stunning, as usual. That fact hadn't been missed by Jane in the least bit. They both settled into the car, the hem of Maura's dress inching up just a little. Not enough to be scandalous, but enough to make Jane's heart rate increase. Of course, Maura seemed to always have that effect on Jane, no matter what she was wearing at the time. As Maura looked over and made eye contact, Jane's wandering mind suddenly threw itself into overdrive.

_Maura subconsciously licked her lips and leaned in ever so slightly towards Jane. Jane saw every movement. From the way her friend's tongue glided over her perfect lips to the slight lean towards her. A comforting hand reached out and rested on Jane's shoulder. She couldn't take it anymore, Maura was driving her crazy. Before she could think about it any longer, Jane had both of her hands on either side of Maura's face and leaned in to capture her lips with her own. She heard the slight breath that Maura inhaled just before their lips met. Jane wasn't exactly being tender, but the passion in the kiss was obvious. Maura was kissing her back, Jane could tell. The car was suddenly in the middle of nowhere, parked off to the side of a road. No one was around, and Jane was thankful that her brain had imagined them somewhere private. She managed to wrap her arms around her friend, and pulled Maura unceremoniously onto her lap. She felt Maura's hands tangle into her hair and shuddered as a moan escaped from Maura's lips. Or had she moaned? She couldn't really tell, but at this point she didn't think it mattered. Her hands moved to Maura's thighs and Jane started to push the dress up farther than it had already managed to get on its own. As Jane's hands got higher and higher, Maura increased the intensity of their kiss, as if encouraging her friend to continue. When Jane reached her destination (after what felt like an eternity) she slowly slipped her fingers over what little lace Maura was wearing._

_ "Jane, you know it's not nice to tease," Maura groaned at her. "Please Jane, I need you. I always have, and I always will. You're the only one I want. Jane…"_ "…Jane? Hello, Earth to Jane?" Maura hadn't thought much of Jane's quietness as they drove through Boston back to the station. That is, until she had noticed a change of breathing rate and a slight clench of Jane's muscles as she tensed. Maura wasn't exactly sure what Jane was experiencing, but it was a little worrisome. Jane blinked her eyes quickly and looked over at her friend. "Huh?" "_Damn, Maur, did you have to interrupt just then?"_ Jane thought to herself, disappointed that their car ride had ended and she hadn't gotten to continue her fantasy. Maura noticed Jane's dilated eyes and wondered if her friend had just been experiencing some arousal. It certainly would make sense, based on what she had observed, but she wondered what Jane had been seeing in her mind's eye.

"We're back at the station," Maura explained. "The others probably wonder where we are."  
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Jane sighed as she thought about getting back to the case. The thought made her stomach churn, and all the pleasant things she had just been experiencing vanished from her mind. _"You shouldn't even be thinking about her like that, Rizzoli, she's your best friend. Maura's practically family, for crying out loud!"_ Jane chided herself silently. Jane knew that wouldn't keep the thoughts away though, they always came back. "Let's get started on this case, Maur. The sooner we get done, the sooner everything can go back to normal. Maura nodded at her friend, trying to stay upbeat and positive. Maura didn't want things to go back to "normal." She was tired of pretending not to have feelings for Jane, but she was also too scared to act on them and scare Jane away forever. The only thing worse than not being able to love Jane the way she wanted to love her was the thought of losing Jane because of something she did. Having Jane as a best friend was better than having no Jane at all, Maura was sure of that much.

Maura got out of the car with as much poise and grace as she did everything. Jane on the other hand, was a little weak in the knees. She wasn't sure where that fantasy had come from; actually, she knew exactly what the source was. She was reminded of it again as Maura walked into the building in front of Jane. She tried not to stare, but Maura's heels made her calves look enticing, and Jane's eyes only went up from there. She shook her head to clear her thoughts for the second time that day. She tried to save those ideas and images until she was home alone and could actually do something about how incredibly turned on her best friend made her, though she would never admit it to anyone. Jane knew she would spend the next several minutes in an uncomfortable state until the case took up every facet of her mind. She supposed she could slip into the bathroom for a few minutes…oh who was she kidding. She wouldn't do something like that at work.

"Are you coming?" Maura called back to her. Jane had stopped halfway through the lobby of the building without even realizing it. She gulped as she looked at Maura's shining hazel eyes. "Of course, Maur," she said smiling. "Lead the way."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey, all! If you've stuck with me so far, I thank you. Every follow, favorite, and review is like giving me a kitten, puppy, or rainbow colored unicorn and I love it :) I hope I did this chapter justice. Please let me know what you think, how you feel, and anything else you'd like to say, just let me know! I'm sorry for any typos/errors that I may have made. You know, being human and such. Thanks for reading!**

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As Maura and Jane walked into the bullpen, Jane could feel the shift in the atmosphere. Maura reached out and placed her hand on Jane's arm.

"I'm going to head down and start on the autopsy. If you need anything, you know where to find me. Otherwise, I'll call when I find something useful." Jane watched Maura leave and then turned back to Frost and Korsak.

"We got any leads yet?"

"No, not yet," Korsak replied, "we got a name though. Jenny Wallesh. Looks like she was a clerk at that secondhand bookstore near where she was found. My guess is she was walking home after work. She lived nearby." As Korsak finished filling in Jane on what little they did know, Frost piped up, "I'm running through her cell phone records right now. There's nothing out of the ordinary though. It looks like the last phone call was made to her parents yesterday." Jane sighed, this wasn't much to go on, but she supposed it was a start.  
"Alright," she said, "Frost, you and I will head to the bookstore and see if we can find anything out there. Korsak, you and Frankie can handle the parents?" Korsak nodded as Jane fastened her badge and gun into their places on herself and she and Frost headed out.

Jane and Frost pulled up to the bookstore several minutes later. It was a quaint little place, and Jane could tell that the rustic appearance was part of the place's charm. She hoped that at a small shop like this, the other employees would be cooperative and helpful. Frost walked into the store first, with Jane just behind him. They could see a middle aged woman at a shelf that was against one of the walls inside. She had several books in her hands and the two detectives guessed she must be an employee since she seemed to be re-shelving the books.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Frost started, so as to not startle the woman too much. "I'm Detective Frost and this is Detective Rizzoli. We're with Boston PD, Homicide. Do you have a few minutes? We'd like to ask you some questions." The woman looked confused, but nodded.  
"Sure," she responded, "there's a table back here where we can sit. Please, call me Melissa. May I ask what this is about?" Jane started speaking as they all headed the short distance to the table and sat down, "It's about one of your employees, Jenny Wallesh. I'm sorry to say it, but her body was found this morning, and her death is now under investigation. She was working here last night, is that correct?"

"Oh how horrible!" Melissa whispered, her eyes starting to shine as tears welled up behind her eyes. "She was such a lovely young woman. She'd been working for me since she started college and she liked it here so much she continued even after she had graduated a few years ago. Yes, she was working last night as she did every Tuesday evening. Her apartment isn't far from here, so she would walk as long as the weather was nice enough."

"Can you tell me what Jenny was wearing yesterday when you saw her? Did everything seem normal about her?"

"Yes," Melissa began, "everything seemed fine. Jenny came in around three in the afternoon like usual, and I believe she was wearing a blue sundress with a denim jean jacket if I remember correctly." Jane and Frost both exchanged looks at the last comment. When they had found the body, she was wearing black dress pants and a light blue shirt with a black blazer over it.

"Are you sure that's what she was wearing?" Frost asked.

"Yes, I remember it clearly now," she stated, "Jenny mentioned she had just gotten the outfit that weekend. She seemed excited that the weather was nice enough to wear it." Jane watched as Frost jotted down the clothing discrepancy on his notepad and then placed it back into his pocket. "Thank you for your time, Melissa," Frost said as he reached across the table to shake her hand. "Let us know if you think of anything else you think might be useful to us," and with that, Frost handed her one of his business cards and the two detectives left the store.

Melissa was as cooperative as Jane had hoped she would be. It seemed though, that their chat hadn't revealed much, if any, new information. Jane waited patiently in the car as Frost searched though the police databases as he ran checks on the other employees. They decided they might as well do it now while they were out and about in case anything came back with a red flag. However, nothing of interest showed up. Frost looked over at his partner and shook his head, "Nope, nothing on the other coworkers." Jane sighed and looked around outside the car. This neighborhood seemed quiet and peaceful, a bit unusual for a murder. The houses and apartments around were not unlike hers, and she couldn't imagine anything like this happening where she lived. The buzzing of her phone in her pocket pulled her out of her train of thought. Maybe it was Maura calling with something useful. Jane hoped that's what it was. Nope, it was Korsak.

"Jane, I need you and Frost meet us down at docks."  
"Sure, what's up?"

"There's another body. Similar to the one found this morning."

"Alright, we're on our way." Jane hung up the phone and turned to Frost. "They found another body down at the docks. Same MO as this morning's body." Frost nodded and started driving towards the docks. Jane's mind was racing, but the only coherent thought should could catch out of it all was, "_Damn."_

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Maura left the office and headed down to the morgue. As strange as her morning with Jane had been, and even though she didn't want to leave Jane's side, she knew that this autopsy was critical for the case. Still, on her way downstairs she couldn't shake the feeling that something about Jane's actions this morning had been noticeably different than most others. At first, Maura just chalked it up to the case, but then she realized it had started before they had even arrived at the body. Maybe it had been the nightmare. That seemed like the most logical reason for Jane's behavior, so Maura decided to leave it at that (for now) as she entered the morgue. She slipped on her lab coat, carefully pulled on a pair of fresh gloves, and took up her scalpel. This was her element. She may not always understand living people and their crazy emotions the best, but she could certainly provide a voice to those who had already passed on to whatever afterlife in which they believed. As she made the Y incision, her emotional mind switched off and she was in full medical mode.

Awhile later, Maura had finished her autopsy and was waiting for the results from the tox-screen. She could now confirm what Korsak had speculated earlier, that the cut on the victim's neck had not been the cause of death. In fact, Maura had not been able to find a physical cause of death, which had led to the need to check for toxins. She suspected they would find something deadly, because she had found a near invisible prick in the woman's arm, as if she had been injected with something. She had also found a liquid substance on the woman's lips, which she had found rather odd. Just then, Susie returned with the test results.

"Dr. Isles," she started, "you're going to want to see this." Maura's brow furrowed as she took the results from Susie and looked over them. Her eyes scanned the page while her brain worked to make sense of the findings. She could understand the chloroform that had been detected; it would have been used to render the victim unconscious and helpless.

"You're right," Maura said to Susie, "this is quite odd and interesting at the same time. It's most unusual really." The victim had been injected with poison, but not just any poison. It had been a relatively large dosage of venom from a copperhead snake. Maura knew the copperhead was one of the only two venomous snakes in the Boston area, and that even seeing such a snake was very rare. She wasn't sure how the killer had managed to get their hands on this venom, but she thought it should help narrow down some possibilities. _"I need to let Jane know what I've found. I hope this can help this case enough to give them some direction,"_ Maura thought. Just then, Frankie came into the room with a worried look on his face. "Frankie, what is it?" she asked.

"They found another body, Maura; we gotta go meet Jane and Frost at the scene." Maura grabbed her Medical Examiner's bag and followed Frankie quickly out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: First off, I want to say how incredibly terrible I feel for not updating this story sooner. These past weeks at college have been an absolute nightmare. Second of all, this chapter is a little slow, more story development and sliiiight Rizzles fluff, if you wanna call it that. Please read and review, anything you have to say is much appreciated! I love hearing from you guys. I've come to realize that knowing where you want to take a story and actually getting the characters there can be two very different things! Anyway, thanks for reading!**

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Maura, Frankie, and Korsak arrived on the scene near the docks not long after Jane and Frost. But it had been long enough. Jane had already gotten a look at the body and had to fight against her urge to run back to the car. This victim looked strangely similar to the first one. She was wearing a black blazer and black suit pants with a dark purple shirt. Jane didn't need to wait for the medical examiner to get here and tell her what the cause of death was. She knew Maura would hate her for "guessing," but Jane didn't think this counted much as guessing. The victim's throat was most definitely slit. Heck, Jane may have even gone so far as to say slashed. The first body could have been considered coincidence, if you stretched your boundaries about it a bit, but this one threw that possibility out the window. Jane knew someone was trying to send her a message. She looked up as she heard the sound of car doors shutting nearby. Her eyes met Maura's immediately, and she saw the worry in her friend's eyes. Was there a hint of fear there, too?

As Maura met Jane's eyes, should couldn't help but feel a wave of worry wash over her. The pain in Jane's eyes was almost too much for her to bear, and that scared her. She knew in that moment that whatever had happened to this victim was worse than their first.

"Jane, are you alright? What happened?" Maura started. Jane just shook her head in response and motioned to the body. As Maura got a view of the victim for the first time, she let out a slight gasp. The first murder had been clean, but this one was messier. She knelt down next to the body and did some of her initial checks, giving the body a once-over. She looked up, expecting to see Jane next to her, but Jane was back by the cars, sitting up against a wall. Maura looked from Frost, who was busy trying to keep his lunch down, to Korsak. Korsak gave her a small nod, and she immediately got up and went to Jane.

"How are you doing?" she asked as she sat down next to her best friend.

"I'm doing great, Maura, thanks for asking! This day is turning out to be the best!" Jane's biting sarcasm made Maura flinch just the slightest. "Geez, Maur, I'm sorry. You didn't do anything wrong," Jane apologized as she slipped her arm behind Maura's back. She rested her head on Maura's shoulder and continued, "Why is this happening? What did I ever do?" as a single tear slipped from her eye.

"Jane, you did nothing wrong. I wish I could tell you why this is happening to the most amazing woman I know," said Maura, as she rested her head on top of Jane's. She reached out and put her arms around Jane, holding her, trying to convey all of her thoughts and feelings into one hug, though she knew that simply wasn't possible.

The two stayed that way while Frost, Korsak, and Frankie finished the rest of the preliminary scene investigation. Silent tears made their way down Jane's face, and onto Maura's shoulder, seeping through the fabric of her dress.

"I think we're done here, unless you have anything else you'd like to do before the move the body, Doctor?" Korsak informed them as the men made their way to the ladies.

"No, it's quite alright. I can do the rest of my tests better in the morgue. Jane, are you ready to go?" Jane nodded her head and started to stand, extending a hand to Maura to help pull the doctor to her feet. Jane pulled her up a little too hard, and Maura found herself falling into Jane, who held her close. Maura looked up and met Jane's eyes. She was momentarily lost, her breath caught in her throat, and rooted to the spot. She also noticed as Jane's eyes darted down to her lips, then back to her eyes. Jane quickly let go of her friend with a slight cough.

"Shit, Maur, I'm sorry," Jane said, glancing at Maura's tear-soaked shoulder. "I'm—you, you should have said something." Maura remembered to start breathing again and answered, "Jane, it's fine, really, it is," and dismissed it with the wave of her hand, "Let's just get you back to the station."

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"Jessica Riganti. At least, that's who her prints say she is." Frost was back from running the victim's prints through the database, and now they had somewhere to start. "System says she worked at the pawn shop near where she was found. Should we head over there and get going on the questions?"

Jane nodded, "Yeah, we should. The sooner we get that done, the better. Wanna come with us?" she directed towards Maura, "Unless you wanted to get started on the autopsy, of course." Maura wasn't sure whether or not Jane really wanted her to come along, but she figured she must if she had asked.  
"Sure, but can we make a quick stop by the morgue? I want to see if Susie has the results from the tox screen yet," and with that, the trio headed down to the basement.

Sure enough, Susie was waiting for them just inside the morgue doors. "What did you find?" Maura asked.

"Well, Doctor Isles, there were traces of chloroform again and also some of the same venom. Both amounts were significantly lower, though, than the first victim." Jane and Frost looked at each other quizzically. Noticing the exchange, Maura decided that needed to be brought up to date on the cause of death for their victims.

"Our first victim was poisoned. Korsak was right when he suggested that the cut on her throat did not kill her. Chloroform was used to render her unconscious, which is why she didn't fight back. I was rather confused by all of this at first, but when I looked closer, I saw a tiny mark on her arm. It turned out that she was injected with snake venom, a copperhead, to be exact, one of the only two poisonous snakes in this area. As for our second victim, the cause of death was exsanguination. Or," she said looking at the increasingly confused look on Frost's face, "she bled to death from having her throat slit." Frost nodded, finally understanding something the doctor was saying. "Also, based on the lower levels of both chloroform and venom, I'd say that our killer wanted this young woman to know what was happening to her, and to be in pain." Jane grimaced at this news and felt her stomach clench. They weren't any closer to finding this new monster, and they now had two bodies. She hoped that there wouldn't be any more.

"Good to know," Jane said. "We found out that the first victim had her clothing changed from when she was last seen to when we found her. Apparently she had been wearing a blue sundress when she was at work, but as you know, we found her in a pant suit. So the clothing is important to the killer for some reason." Jane had her growing suspicions, but was afraid to talk about them before she was sure. Though she was worried what it would take for her to actually be sure.  
"Now that everyone's all caught up," Frost started, "let's head out to the pawn shop. Maybe we can find a lead out there." And with that, the three of them headed back out into Boston.


End file.
